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I hardly ever do this but what are your thoughts on the subject of this song? It's one of those tunes that has Jerry singing one part and Bobby singing the second person as Hunter loved to do! I know he discourages this type of analysis but

So Jerry (rest his soul) sings:

I just jumped the watchman, right outside the fence.Took his rings, four bucks in change, ain't that Heaven sent?

Bobby sings:

Hurts my ears to listen, Shannon, burns my eyes to see;Cut down a man in cold blood, Shannon, might as well been me.

in the next verse Bobby sings:

We used to play for silver, now we play for life;And one's for sport and one's for blood at the point of a knife.And now the die is shaken, now the die must fall.There ain't a winner in the game, he don't go home with all.Not with all.

Next in Harmony:

Leavin' Texas, fourth day of July,Sun so hot, the clouds so low, the eagles filled the sky.Catch the Detroit Lightnin' out of Sante Fe,The Great Northern out of Cheyenne, from sea to shining sea.

Next Jerry:

Gotta go to Tulsa, first train we can ride.Gotta settle one old score, one small point of pride.

Now Bobby:

There ain't a place a man can hide, Shannon will keep him from the sunAin't a bed can give us rest now, you keep us on the run.

Then in Harmony:

Jack Straw from Wichita cut his buddy down,And dug for him a shallow grave and laid his body down.Half a mile from Tucson, by the morning light,One man gone and another to go, my old buddy you're moving much too slow.

We can share the women, we can share the wine.

--------------------The bus came by and I got on that's when it all began!

I like it quite a lot... I've heard some GREAT live takes of it... I especially dig the line "we can share the women we can share the wine." Never really tohught about the way that the vocal harmonies go... I'll take another listen to it now and let you know what I think.

This is truly a awsome song, i love it! at times in 1978-1980 Bob Weir sang "We used to play for acid ..." and "... now we play for Clive" (a reference to Clive Davis, the boss of Arista Records)--one example was 1 November 1979 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Uniondale, NY

I love it when they switch up the lyrics... I've heard a version of that Dylan song (what the hell is it called?!) where the lyric is supposed to be "and my best friend my doctor won't even tell me what it is i've got" and the Dead sing "and my best friend my drummer won't even tell me what it is i've dropped!"

I didn't know they did alternate lyrics like that. I gotta here that. I love Jack Straw it's one of my favorites. It's such a great story about partners in crime. I was talking with a friend about this song the other day and he was saying how he doesn't like the lyrics because he doesn't agree with the viewpoint. He didn't like the "We can share the women we can share the wine." I had to explain to him that it's not the Dead equating women with objects, it's a character in the song. It's a song about rotten people (one a little more rotten than the other). Then a little light went on in his head and now I think he has new appreciation for the song. He's kinda new to the Dead but I've been slowly nurturing his growing appreciation for their music. He's going to Bonnaroo with me and after that then he'll be completely turned on.